SPONSORED CONTENT: Activities which parents can set up quickly and easily at home are often the ones to excite and engage children. In her entertaining book, Five Minute Mum: Give Me Five, Daisy Upton provides a wealth of ideas to support learning through play.

The Department for Education has updated guidance for early years and childcare providers, including confirmation that from 1 June, childminders can look after children of all ages, in line with their current Ofsted registration, and within usual limits on the number of children they can care for.

After 15 years of leading the education charity Teach First, Brett Wigdortz set up early years education company Tiney in 2019. Tiney’s mission is ‘to empower a generation of micro-entrepreneurs to deliver amazing care from their own homes’. Since the lockdown, Tiney has received a surge in applications, many from people reconsidering their careers.